fruit trees! apples! pears! These were

Pomona’s great delight, her fiercest joy.

She bore a knife, but not for hunting:

no, hers was used to trim a hedge

of rose or cherry-wood, or to prune

a fruitless tree, or graft an aged apple

so that it burst forth anew.

Orchards were her secret nurseries

and trees were her beloved ones

who never thirsted, never withered.

Oh! to live among Pomona’s trees!

Oh! to be loved as much as that!

~Ovid, Metamorphoses

The Roman Goddess Pomona was honored as the spirit of fruit trees, and also as the gardener who tends them. For many people, connection with nature occurs primarily through gardening. Even in urban areas, a pot of marigolds on a balcony will brighten the darkest day. The connection between people and plants is one that has always illuminated myth and ritual. Although few rituals exist today to celebrate the great productivity of plant and animal life each summer, we can build our own with friends and family. Eating the first corn, cutting the first ripe tomato, grilling fresh fish in the open air: if done consciously, these can become rituals of thanksgiving and love to the earth that sustains us.

By Patricia Monaghan

Travel with Daydreams
Adapted from The World Dream Book
by Sarvananda Bluestone
Inner Traditions, 2002

While most of us cultivated the fine art of daydreaming as an escape
from boredom in school (a practice which serves some of us well at work,
too!), daydreams can be used to bring us to new places, teach us more
about ourselves, and enrich our lives.
Your daydreams are magical passports. Here’s how you can travel with
them:

1.) Find a place and time where and when you can do nothing. This kind
of daydreaming requires your full attention, so find a place and time in
which you have no responsibilities. Unlike ordinary daydreaming, this is
not about escaping from something. It is about going to something.

2.) Close your eyes. If you have your own way to relax, feel free to
employ it, but definitely close your eyes. Our eyesight can be a
distraction, and we don’t want to be distracted from our daydreaming.
You might want to take a few deep breaths, inhaling slowly through the
nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth.

3.) Think of something you have wanted to do and have not yet done.
Don’t just think about it–actively imagine what you want. The more
specific the images, the better.

4.) Do what you have wanted to do. Here’s the key. In a dream we can do
anything, we can be anywhere. We can travel through time and space. We
are not bound by logic or practicality. We can visit the dead, speak to
the unborn. There are no limits here other than those that you impose
upon yourself.
Again, be as concrete as you can be. If, for example, you’ve wanted to
visit France, be specific. France is a large place, but the waterfront,
at, say, Marseilles is more specific. I’ve never been there, but I can
conjure up a breeze from the sea and the smell of fish. Which leads
to…

5.) Pay attention to all of your senses. The problem with visualization
alone is that it focuses on one of the five senses–the sense of sight.
We do more than see when we dream. We feel, and sometimes we smell and
touch. Surely in our dreams our sense of sight is foremost–that’s how
we’ve been trained. But in a daydream we can use all our senses.
In my Marseilles daydream, I’d allow myself to imagine not only the
sight of the harbor but also the smell of the fish, the feeling of the
sea breeze on my skin, and the sound of the seagulls. The more senses,
the merrier the daydream.

6.) Let yourself explore. Now that you’ve reached the place where you’ve
wanted to go–explore. Walk, fly, swim if you want to.

7.) Do this more than once. Daydreaming takes practice. The more we do
it, the better we get at it. Once again, more of what we call
daydreaming is about getting away from a particular situation. In
imaginative daydreaming we create something to go toward. It takes
practice. The sky’s the limit!

Submitted by Akasha

Daily Aromatherapy Tip

.

Clays are another base material to
which essential oils may be added.
Use clays in masks to help the skin release toxins.
They also aid in exfoliation of dead skin cells.

Some clays to choose from:
Green best for oily skin
White milder than Green, best suited for detoxification
Red all purpose for toning and cleansing
Blue for acne, anti-inflammnatory, for drawing out.
Pink soothing, cleansing, hydrating for dry, sensitive skin.

A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II” –July 14

Eating the greens Grandmother gathered was a trial, an imposition on a
child remembering the fried or roasted meats of wintertime. But she
persisted in gathering them and she insisted that I eat them because
their medicinal properties would ward off many diseases. Grandmother
would have been appalled at many things from fast-food to the tasteless
cooking of greens. She was the matriarch and in many ways remains so,
because her mindset set our minds and even now an unwanted salad comes
with the command, “Eat!” We remember and are the better for it.

~ Our village was healthy and there was no place in the country
possessing such advantages. ~ MA-KA-TAI-ME-SHE-KIA-KIAK ~ SAUK AND FOX CHIEF
.By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Spell A

Day – Spell for Scathach
.

The 13th of the month is the feast day of Scathach, when the traditional Scottish games begin. Generally, the games are held around the second week of July, and feature games of skill, strength, and artistry. They are watched over by the Goddess Scathach, she who bestows strength and endurance. Check your local events listings to see if any groups are sponsoring upcoming Highland games and meetings of the clans. Tonight, hoist a jigger of good Scotch and toast Scathach, asking her for health and strength. If you are related to any of the Scottish clans, wear your clan’s tartan.

Today’s Goddess: Minne

Linden Festival (Germany)

Themes:Protection; Love; Luck; Devotion; Unity

Symbols: Linden Tree; Cup; Beer

About Minne: Minne is a German goddess of love and fertility. Her name–meaning “remembrance”–was applied to a special cup for lovers in this part of the world. The cup was filled with specially prepared beer and raised between two people wishing to deepen their love. This gives Minne a strong association with devotion, unity, and fidelity.

To Do Today: During the second weekend in July, people in Geisenheim, Germany, gather around an ancient Linden Tree (six hundred plus years old) and celebrate the year’s new wine. All aspects of the festival take place beneath the Linden’s branches, which in magic terms represent safety and good fortune. The Linden flowers portray Minne’s spirit, having been used in all manner of love magic! To protect a relationship, two lovers should carry dried Linden flowers with them always.

When making a promise to each other, a couple may drink a wooden goblet of beer today, linking their destinies. Raise the glass to the sky first, saying, “Minne’s love upon our lips, devotion in each sip.”

This is a Receiving/Accepting Affirmation in the second week of the month.

Make this a now day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am ready right now to live in empowered transformation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ABOUT TODAY’S AFFIRMATION
Yes, we are ready, right? I often hear people say that they
are ready to live the good life, yet are not willing to be
what they seek. They want happiness, yet are not willing to
BE HAPPY right now! They expect happiness to come from
outside them — puff! The knight in shining armor. The
beautiful princess. The perfect job. The money from the
lottery. Everything to MAKE them happy or empowered or
satisfied. Many people use affirmations and other
techniques to try to manipulate the Universe. However,
the world does not work that way. We must BE right now what
we desire, because life takes place in the NOW, in the
present. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, “We must be the change we
wish to see in the world.”

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